The American Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has called for the US and European countries to put aside their differences over the Iraq conflict and work together in the war against terrorism.
Speaking at an international security conference in the German city of Munich, Mr Rumsfeld said it had become clear that one nation alone could not defeat extremists.
Germany was opposed to the war on Iraq but Mr Rumsfeld praised its contribution to Iraqi reconstruction.
Mr Rumsfeld added that NATO had an essential role to play in confronting the major challenges facing the world today.
However, he said sometimes military action had to be taken quickly and to wait for consensus from NATO members would take too long.
Mr Rumsfeld went to the Munich conference after a surprise visit to Iraq - the most senior US official to visit Iraq since the 30 January vote.
